Key clinical point: Exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOC) significantly increased the risk for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), highlighting environmental pollutants as a risk factor for RA.
Major finding: Patients with RA had a significantly higher urine concentration of seven VOC than those without arthritis (all P < .05). The risk for RA was significantly higher among those in the highest vs lowest concentration quantile of AMCC (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 2.173; 95% CI 1.021-4.627) and 3HPMA (aOR 2.663; 95% CI 1.288-5.508), with the parent compounds being N,N-Dimethylformamide and acrolein, respectively.
Study details: This cross-sectional study included 9536 participants with complete information on 15 urine VOC, of whom 618 participants had RA and 8918 did not have arthritis.
Disclosures: This study was supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of Central South University, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and other sources. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
Source: Lei T et al. The exposure to volatile organic chemicals associates positively with rheumatoid arthritis: A cross-sectional study from the NHANES program. Front Immunol. 2023;14:1098683 (Jun 19). Doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1098683